


You'll Still Have Me

by TakeThat



Category: Amazingphil - Fandom, Danisnotonfire - Fandom, Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Explicit Language, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Stepbrothers!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 06:16:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6554308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakeThat/pseuds/TakeThat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan and Phil are stepbrothers- Dan's mother passed away a long time ago from illness, and Phil's father was in a horrible accident. Dan can't stand Phil, even though they've been stepbrothers for quite a while now, but that all changes when he finds Phil crying alone one day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Still Have Me

Phil was too overly-attached for Dan’s liking.

He was too quiet.

Too clumsy.

Too… _soft_.

The boy had some sort of emotional issues or something. He got way too frustrated with himself after the smallest mistake. He became a blubbering mess whenever someone would even _begin_ raising their voice at him. So, he obviously had some emotional issues.

Or he was just a manipulative little prick.

Dan yawned that morning and swore loudly to himself as he slammed his forehead into a cabinet door, followed by holding the growing bruise with a string of swear words falling out of his mouth in mutters.

“Phil! Stop leaving the goddamn cabinet doors open!” He called out, shutting them as he walked by. Yet another thing to check off on his list.

“Go suck a dick, Dan!” came a voice from the lounge.

Dan huffed and got out the cereal, milk, and a bowl, combing the contents sloppily and putting the milk and cereal box back. He grabbed the bowl of cereal and a spoon, heading out to the lounge.

“Yeah, you’d like to see me do that, wouldn’t you?” Dan sneered, plopping down on the couch next to Phil.

Phil shot a glare at him, moving to the chair instead. “Fuck off, Dan.”

“Ohh, something’s got your panties in a twist today. I’d bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Panties, me sucking a dick-“

“I said to fuck _off_ , you asshole!”

“God, calm the hell down.” Dan snapped, getting up to go eat in the the kitchen instead. “I don’t even know what your fucking problem is."

Phil’s mother and Dan’s father long ago stopped trying to make the two “bond” after their quick relationship-turned-marriage. There wasn’t a large gap of time between the time their parents met and when they got married. Hell, there wasn’t a large gap of time between when Phil’s father left them and his mother started dating again. Dan concluded that his father left only a year before their parents started dating, and it’s now been a less than year since they got married and everyone moved to a new city in a new house together. And now they were one big happy family. Dan scoffed at that. But he at least understood how much both of their parents’ probably needed to move on quickly.

One of their parents’, or mostly Phil’s mother’s, tactics was something she called a “confession session” during the very brief engagement. She would sit them down together in one of their bedrooms or at the dining room table in the new house, leave them alone, and neither of them were allowed to leave until both of them admitted something new about themselves that the other didn’t know. It was a way to make them feel like “the best of friends”, as Dan put it when he mocked the idea afterwards.

Despite how stupid it felt, though, Dan took the opportunity at the third session (after they talked about stupid things the first two sessions they were forced to endure) to talk about his mother. About how she was diagnosed with cancer when he was eight, recovered when he was nine, then died on the hospital bed when he was eleven. He told Phil, while holding his gaze on the floor, that he didn’t understand it when he was little or even what type of cancer she had, but he and his family kept it on a “don’t ask, don’t tell” kind of basis. He had even admitted that it obviously didn’t hurt to talk about anymore but he would sometimes stay up at night, sobbing in grief about how she’ll never see him get married or send him away for the first time to university in the upcoming school year. Dan had taken a deep breath after speaking, looking up at Phil with a new sense of relief and a weight lifted from his shoulders. He may have hated Phil at that point, but the other at least deserved to know why his father was looking to get married again.

He was met with Phil’s blue eyes, fresh with tears glazing over them. Dan resisted the chance to roll his eyes at Phil’s sympathy-stricken expression, and nodded.

“So, yeah.” He laughed sadly, running his hand through his hair. _Don’t cry, don’t cry._ “I mean, I still remember a lot about her. She used to tuck me in, make me tea, read Winnie the Pooh to me…” _Not in front of Phil, don’t cry._ Dan smiled fondly a the memory, blushing a bit. “So, um… you?”

Phil’s eyes visibly widened at the question and he looked down quickly.

“Well?”

Phil looked down, coughing.

“My father left.”

_He left?_

“Oh.” Dan said, biting his lip. “And?”

Silence.

Dan’s stomach churned and he scowled.

“ _And?_ ” He repeated himself, fire under his words.

Phil looked away silently.

“Are you _kidding_ me? Are you actually kidding me, Phil?!” Dan spat, standing up from his chair quickly. “I spill the story of my mother’s death to you and all you can give me is some _bullshit_ answer? Go to hell, Phil Go to fucking hell.”

He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, ignoring Phil’s mother asking how it went. Instead, he went directly to his room slamming the door. He wasn’t asked to do another “confession session” with Phil since.

Ever since then, his hatred grew and was easily sparked when anything reminded him of the incident. Knocking Phil’s stuff over, shoving him every time they passed each other, were only a few examples of how he showed Phil exactly what he felt about him. It wasn’t long before Phil started getting angry and doing just the same in return.

And yet, Phil found a way to piss him off even more: he started referring to both of their parents’ as “mum and dad” and even started referring to Dan as his brother. He treated the situation like they were all a part of a normal family. Dan would have never sunk so low and the anger burned and settled in his stomach.

The little bastard.

“I’m heading out!” Dan called to Phil in the lounge, dumping his now empty bowl in the sink. “Because I actually _have_ friends, you loser.”

There was no response and Dan rolled his eyes, slipping on his shoes.

“I’ll be back whenever. Don’t let anyone wait up for me.”

_____________________________________________________________

Dan came home that night unnoticed and slightly tipsy around midnight. He had hung out with his friends all day until one of them said their older brother was having a get together with some uni friends and plenty of alcohol. Of course he could’ve gotten Phil to buy the alcohol for them earlier, with him already being eighteen, but the idiot was too much of a goody-two-shoes for that.

The front hall and rooms were dark.The further Dan walked into the house, the sooner he knew why no one noticed him coming home; there was a heated discussion going on in the lounge.

“B-But mum, d-dad…”

“No, Phil. This is fucking ridiculous. I know I didn’t raise you, but you are so much better than this! I don’t- I can’t…. How could you choose this kind of life?”

Dan laughed to himself and walked towards the lounge, peeking in. His father was standing up with his arms crossed and Phil was standing across from him, his mother sitting on the couch with her face in her hands. When Dan walked in and faced them, he could see the tear tracks on Phil’s face.

“I didn’t choose this! This isn’t a fucking _choice_ , James!”

The entire family went silent in utter shock at Phil’s outburst and Dan could feel rage flickering behind his eyes. If Phil was angry enough that he was calling his dad by his first name, something he hadn’t done since their parents were only dating, then he probably should have stepped back.

He saw his dad’s jaw harden.

“First of all, don’t you dare speak to me like that. I am your father, and I-“

“You are not my fucking father, _James_. My father wouldn’t have disapproved of me being bisexual. My father wouldn’t have hated having me around. My _father_ would have never upset me so much b-before he left me behind! And you all can just GO TO HELL.”

Phil swiveled around to storm out, fresh tears streaming down his face and choking out sobs, only to be stopped by Dan’s hand grasped tightly around his collar. Phil’s mother finally stood up, both parents on edge in case a physical fight broke out.

“Look here, you bastard. I don’t give a single _shit_ what your father ‘would have done’ if he was here. Guess what, Phil? He’s _not_. He’s not here and he never will be. So don’t you _ever_ talk to my dad like that. I don’t care if you’re gay or bi or whatever the hell you are, but do NOT speak to us this way. We’re here whether you like it or not, and I don’t give a shit that your dad is out there somehow, being some goddamned hedonist and banging a ton of fucking sluts before he curls up in bed with a case of beer. Just because your dad’s a bastard who left you doesn’t mean you have ANY permission to be an asshole yourself.”

There was complete silence again as Dan and Phil’s eyes were only inches apart, due to how close he was holding him by the collar. He could see the conflict between rage and grief in the others eyes even though he could see the tears gathering anyways. He dropped Phil flat on his feet, not noticing that he had been lifting Phil up until he was on his toes.

Phil growled after a moment, pulling his hand back and striking it across Dan’s face. The slap was weak, but it sobered Dan up from his tipsy daze and it would definitely leave a red mark.

“My ‘hedonist’ father didn’t just _leave_ me, Dan. He died in a fucking car accident two years ago.” Phil spat at him, turning away to hide the spilling tears Dan already saw before he ran up the stairs. The slamming of his bedroom door echoed into the completely still and silent lounge.

If there was one thing crossing Dan’s mind, it was the fact that everything started making sense now. Phil’s clinginess, his tending to be over-emotional, calling Dan’s father ‘dad’…

He suddenly felt sick with guilt. Phil was never trying to piss him off. He was just… lonely, he guessed. Having your mother date someone less than a year after your father’s death, even if it was in an attempt to move on quickly for herself, must have made Phil feel like he had to move on as well. No wonder he acted like Dan and his father were his family; they _were_ to him. And that wound from his father’s death was recent. Dan and his father were prepared for his mother’s death, even though it still destroyed him for the following years, and it had happened six years ago. Phil’s father? All unexpected and that wound was still fresh.

“I’m going to go talk to him.” Dan said sternly, not looking at either of their parents as he started walking out. “Dad… I think you should seriously reconsider how you approach this.”

And with that, Dan walked up the stairs.

_____________________________________________________________

Dan had never seen Phil angry or frustrated before, so when he approached the bedroom door and heard shouts and crashing on the other side, he was more than a little startled.

“Phil?” He said over the noise, knocking softly.

Silence then shuffling, and suddenly the door flew open.

“ _What?_ ” Phil spat, eyes downcast so Dan couldn’t properly look at him.

“I want to talk to you. Move.” He demanded, shoving his way in past Phil and closing the door behind him. “So we’re going to talk.”

Dan saw Phil’s eyes widen in fear and he laughed.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Phil. I really just want to talk to you. Sit on your bed.”

Phil nodded and complied, sitting down on his bed hesitantly. He kept his gaze down, biting his nails.

“Okay, firstly-“ Dan began, pacing back and forth. “I made some… stupid assumptions. When you said he left I, well, took it literally. And I was stupid because I got offended because I thought you took my story about my mum for granted and wouldn’t talk to me about something that seemed like a much easier situation. So I’m sorry for that.”

Phil seemingly calmed down at Dan’s words; whether it was because it was an apology or the fact he wouldn’t be beaten up, Dan didn’t know.

“Secondly, Phil, I know how you feel about the whole situation.”

Phil shot his head up, eyes wide. Dan knew just as well that he was usually nothing but angry around Phil. The fact that he was about to be so openly emotional about anything was both surprising and making a hot blush creep up his neck.

“You feel like your entire world is destroyed and life feels like a dream. All of the memories feel like they’re fading and you start to panic because you think you’re going to forget everything that matters. And it’s okay to cry about that. You’re unprepared, no matter how much you know it’s coming. You’ll still remember everything when you’re crying at two in the morning and those memories will either make you feel better or cry harder, but at least you remember. But then you’re still expected to move on, even when you’re not ready. I get it, Phil. Really.”

Phil whimpered for a second before breaking down in sobs, reaching out for Dan. Dan smiled softly, sitting down next to him and pulling him in for a hug. Phil buried his face into the crook between Dan’s neck and shoulders.

“I know you feel lonely, and I’m so, so sorry. I thought you were just being difficult but that obviously wasn’t the case. I’m sorry you had to move on so quickly. And even if you haven’t moved on, that’s fine, okay? Life will get better. Our father will accept you and he’ll still love you, and our mum will love us no matter what. Trust me, I went through the same thing when I came out to him as gay a few years ago. You can tell that he still loves me, yeah?” He felt Phil nod. “He’ll still love you. Mum will still love you. I’ll still love you.”

Phil’s shaking slowed down and Dan sighed in relief. It felt weird to consider everyone as his family now, but it definitely felt right.

“We’re a broken little family, but we all at least understand each other. I understand your pain, but I’m here for you now. I can tell that my dad adores you and he’s proud to have us both in his life. Your mother is so sweet and kind and when I’m with her, she makes me feel like I have a mum again. Now, they’re both our parents and they love us both. You’ll always have them there for you, no matter what.”

Phil’s sniffling quieted down and he turned to rest his head on Dan’s shoulder. The brunet squeezed his arms around Phil tighter in reassurance.

“What about you?” Phil asked quietly, wiping some tears from his cheeks.

Dan smiled.

“Yeah.” He said quietly. “You’ll still have me.”


End file.
